Kolyma
Kolyma (Russian: Колыма) is located in the far northeastern area in what is commonly known as Siberia. The extremely remote region gets its name from the Kolyma River and mountain range, parts of which were not discovered until 1926. Though geographically and ethnically an Arctic island nation associated with the continent of Asia, politically and historically Kolyma is closely tied to Europe. Nation Information Founded in March 2007 on the site of a Soviet offshore research facility from the 1920s, Kolyma was granted autonomy the following month. Its size and population are growing quickly as facilities are rapidly being developed for the expanding mining activities in the area. Its administrative center is the city of New Magadan. Silver mining and fishing are the major industries. Its capital has a seaport (fully navigable from May to December). Much of the rural population exists on subsistence hunting, and fishing. The urban population is employed in mining, administration, construction, cultural work, education, medicine, and other occupations. History Kolyma came into being in 2007 after the Magadan Nuclear Disaster the year before. A former offshore research station, Progress (Russian: Прогресс), was chosen as the site of resettlement for many residents displaced by the disaster. As a result of considerable raw resources, particularly silver, mining activities and road building has since been developed. Magadan Nuclear Disaster The Magadan disaster was a major accident at the Magadan Nuclear Power Plant on November 20, 2006 at 1:23 a.m. consisting of an explosion at the plant and subsequent contamination of the surrounding geographic area. It is regarded as the worst accident to have ever taken place in the Russian Far East. Large areas were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over a thousand people. The Magadan Exclusion Zone was established soon after the disaster, in order to evacuate the local population and to prevent people from entering the heavily contaminated territory. Although the Magadan Exclusion Zone will remain off limits, the majority of affected areas are now safe for settlement and economic activity. Kolyma Today The capital New Magadan is very isolated. There is only one bridge connecting the city to the mainland, and the nearest major city is Yakutsk, located 2000 km away. The city has recently been expanded to accommodate a growing population. The Mask of Sorrow, a monumental sculpture designed by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, was recently erected to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Magadan disaster. The principle sources of the local economy are silver mining and fisheries. Silver production has declined in recent months, although future prospects look good. Fishing, although improving, is still well below the allocated quotas, apparently as a result of an aging fleet. Other local industries include sausage plants and a vodka distillery. Kolyma has a number of cultural institutions, including the New Magadan Concert Hall, home to the world-famous Kolyma Folk Ensemble. Government The government of Kolyma takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system, though strong powers are still concentrated with the Grand Prince. The Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the Duma. Executive Branch Grand Prince Constantine (Russian: Великий князь Константин) is the head of state. He may only exercise his right to state leadership in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and of other laws. He represents the state vis-à-vis foreign states. He signs international treaties either in person or delegates this function to a plenipotentiary. Some treaties under international law only become valid when they have been ratified by the Duma. On the basis of the names put forward by Parliament, the Grand Prince nominates the government, district and high court judges, the judges of the Supreme Court, and the presidents and their deputies of the Constitutional Court and of the Administrative Court of Appeal. The Grand Prince's other authorities include exercising the right to mitigate and commute punishments that have been imposed with legal force and the abolition — i.e., the dismissal — of investigations that have been initiated. All judgments are issued in the name of the Grand Prince. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Duma is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Duma is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch. According to the constitution of Kolyma, the government is a collegiate body and consists of the head of government and four councilors. The head of government as well as the ministers are appointed by the Grand Prince following the proposals of the Parliament. Conventions * Kolyma uses the International System of Units. The Imperial System is almost completely ignored in Kolyma. * In mathematics, Kolyma uses the Infix notation. For large numbers both the Long and Short Scales is used. * The Russian language is regulated by the Russian Academy while the English language taught in school is British English. * Cars are driven on right. Geography Time Zone Kolyma is located in the Kamchatka Time Zone (PETT/PETST). UTC offset is +1200 (PETT)/+1300 (PETST). Natural Resources Natural resources include silver, fish and untapped reserves of oil and gas. Climate The climate of Kolyma is subarctic. Winters are prolonged and very cold, with up to six months of sub-zero temperatures, so that the soil remains permanently frozen. Permafrost and tundra cover most of the region. The growing season is only one-hundred days long. Average temperatures on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk range from -8 °F (-22 °C) in January to 54 °F (12 °C) in July. Average temperatures in the interior range from -36 °F (-38 °C) in January to 60 °F (16 °C) in July. Demographics Population The population of Kolyma is predominantly Christian with a Buddhist minority, speaking Russian. The Cyrillic alphabet is the only official script. According to the 2007 Census, Russians make up 62.7% of the Kolyma's population. Other groups include Ukrainians (23.2%), Ossetians (3.0%), Koryaks (2.4%), Evenks (1.8%), Buryats (1.5%), Bashkirs (0.7%), Kamchadals (0.5%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. In addition, 0.33% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire. Religion According to the 2007 census, 87.9% of the population is Christian, of which an overwhelming majority adhere to the Russian Orthodox faith. The religious affiliation for most of the remainder is Tibetan Buddhism - 4.8%, shamanism - 4.1% and Jewish - 2.8%. Kolyma Category:Nations of Asia